College Basketball on Tuesday and we will see the Florida Gators travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN. Currently the Odds for the game have Florida favored by 8.5 points while the total sits at 124.5.
Analysis: Florida, which has won four of its last five games, can clinch a double-bye in the SEC tournament by winning at surging Tennessee tonight in the teams’ only regular-season meeting. Thanks to SEC expansion, this is the first time since 1964 that the teams won’t play a home-and-home series. The No. 6 Gators lead the 14-team conference by two games after Saturday’s 71-54 revenge victory over Arkansas. Florida has held 19 opponents to fewer than 60 points, while the Gators have failed to hit 60 once. The club's offensive attack has done more than enough in support, pouring in 73.7 ppg on an SEC- best 49.2 percent field goal efficiency. UF is without a true superstar but instead relies on plenty of scoring depth. Rosario (13.0 ppg), Boynton (12.9 ppg) and Murphy (12.5 ppg) are all neck-and-neck for the scoring lead, with the trio combining to drain 156 3-pointers at a 38.5 percent clip. Young is solid in the trenches with 10.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 1.7 bpg, while Scottie Wilbekin (9.1 ppg) gets others involved with his 5.4 apg.
The Volunteers have won a season-best five straight after Saturday’s four-overtime thriller against Texas A&M. The offense has finally come alive for Tennessee, which is shooting 47.5 percent overall and 46.4 percent on 3-pointers during the streak. The Volunteers have scored more than 80 points in three straight regular-season SEC games for the first time since 2000. Tennessee was able to extend its marathon session with Texas A&M over the weekend with game-tying field goals in final 20 seconds of both the first and second overtimes, and it finally claimed the victory by going on a 9-0 run during the fourth extra session. The prolonged game helped UT's season scoring average, which at 66.4 ppg ranks in the middle in the SEC, although its scoring defense (62.8 ppg) is considered above-average. McRae is the team's top outside threat with 14.9 ppg, while Stokes is one of the conference's most feared big men, logging 12.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 1.3 bpg, all while shooting greater than 54 percent from the field. Golden chips in 12.3 ppg and has twice as many assists (99) as turnovers (49). Tennessee is 12-3 in February under second-year coach Cuonzo Martin.
Pick: I like the Over in this one. The Tennesee offense is starting to push the pace and it has helped them them to 80+ points in 3 straight games. They should be able to score at least in the low 60's here. Florida's offense has been good all year and should score in the upper 60's vs a Tennessee defense that can be inconsistent at times. I look for a game in the 130's here.
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